1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer networking and communication, including Web-based communications and commerce.
2. Related Art
The World Wide Web is increasingly becoming the Internet technology relied upon for conducting electronic commerce and communication. The World Wide Web, also called the Web or WWW, has three basic parts: client software, servers and content. Client software runs on a user's computer and, among other things, provides the graphical user-interface through which a user can “browse” or “surf” the Web. Servers (also called Web servers) are computers that provide the content to users through a communication link. Content can be any kind of multi-media, e.g., images, text, animation, motion video, sound, and Java applets.
Communication between a browser and a server is carried out through Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hyper Text Transfer Protocol-Secure (HTTPS) or other Web-compatible protocol. Web content is primarily transferred in Web documents or files, called Web pages, which are addressed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Web pages are often multi-media hypertext documents written in a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) which supports hyper-linking. Data entry in Web pages allows users to make selections and fill-out template or profiles to facilitate user input. For example, scripts are often run on servers through a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) to implement data entry. Programming languages, such as Java, and plug-ins such as Flash, are also being extended to support data entry on the Web.
These parts are well-suited for electronic communication and commerce between remote users. Indeed, the popularity and use of the World Wide Web has increased dramatically. The number of Web sites and Web pages continues to grow. Accordingly, it has become increasingly important to many Web businesses and services to draw traffic to their site. Advertising revenue, registration fees and other sources of revenue generally increase as the number of hits to a site rises. It is also important for many Web businesses and services that access to the local content on their site be distributed widely. Accordingly, it is important to distribute knowledge about the content of a Web site.
Hyperlinking between Web pages is one way a Web site increases traffic to its site. Hyperlinking alone, however, has disadvantages. For example, consider the case where a remote user with a remote Web page adds a hyperlink to another site, such as, a Web site that provides sports information. The remote user inserts a URL for the sports Web site into his or her Web page (e.g., an HTML document). The URL itself, however, does not provide any significant contextual information or actual information about the content of the sports Web site. A user may provide text to describe the sports Web site, but this information can be soon out of date and may not reflect actual information on the Web site.
Some Web services, such as search engines, attempt to increase traffic to their sites by making available HTML code for logos or search bars to be inserted in Web pages on other sites. FIG. 13 shows an example screen served up at the GoogleSM search engine Web site to facilitate linking. In this case, a user is provided with an HTML code segment (called a snippet) and an image that shows how the snippet will appear on the user's Web page. The user is then expected to cut and paste the HTML code segment into their own Web page. FIGS. 14A to 14C show similar examples displayed at the Northern Light search engine. A user is provided with a variety of options (logos and search bars) and corresponding HTML code segments from which to select.
In both of these examples, the HTML code segments are predetermined. No real-time configuration or modification can be made by the user prior to cutting and pasting the HTML code snippet. Any configuration of the HTML code segments must be done by the user. In addition, the servers generating the HTML code segments do not facilitate or support real-time configuration based on user selections or preferences. This increases the burden on the user. Users who do not know HTML or how to configure or modify the HTML code snippet are unable to tailor the link as they desire.
What is needed is an invention which remotely and easily propagates access to Web content. Users need to be able to remotely and easily configure in real-time a link to another Web site.